Jackson gears up for Community Celebration

The annual Community Celebration in Jackson Township will once again offer food concessions, games, amusement rides, children's activities and free live entertainment in the North Park on Fulton Road in Jackson Township. Dates for the event this year are Wednesday, June 26 through Saturday, June 29.

The annual Community Celebration in Jackson Township will once again offer food concessions, games, amusement rides, children's activities and free live entertainment in the North Park on Fulton Road in Jackson Township. Dates for the event this year are Wednesday, June 26 through Saturday, June 29.

There are several new features this year including a new live band called the Bluesrockers, several new vendors, the car show will be bigger and there are more people registered for the 5K Nite Glow run/walk. Plus, the layout will be different to allow more room for vendors.

Bates Amusement Rides will provide the rides again this year. John Pizzino, Jackson Township trustee, said that the company is the best provider of amusement rides in Ohio.

“We are proud to offer one of the best fairs in the county,” Pizzino said. “Last year was a record breaking year for attendance and we expect record breaking crowds again this year.”

While the event is one of the year’s most anticipated, Pizzino made sure to credit those who work hard behind the scenes to make Community Celebration a reality.

“Our park employees do a fantastic job and we can't thank them enough,” Pizzino said “The event really brings together the community with the Township's fire and police and the zoning department along with the YMCA, Jackson Schools, area businesses and many others.”

In addition to rides and food, there will be live entertainment every night with LaFlavor on Wednesday, Jimmy and the Soul Blazers on Thursday, The Bluesrockers on Friday and Kerosene on Saturday.

Children's activities will be provided by MCTV and to top it all off, there will be a fireworks show on Saturday night.

The Community Celebration is a decades-old event. It was originally started in the 1950s as a Volunteer Fireman's Festival and was held in what today is called Fisher's Park. It was moved to the North Park in the mid-1990s and renamed to reflect the community involvement.

“The Community Celebration highlights our parks and involves a lot of donors and businesses and the event benefits the community in so many ways,” said David Ruwadi, park maintenance and programming supervisor.

“I think members of the school board said it best: 'Unity is community,’” Pizzino said of the event’s purpose. “This event brings all of the people in the community together. We're pleased that we can put the event on every year and really want to thank everyone involved including the thousands of people who attend every year.”

In addition to Jackson Township, supporting members of the event include three local non-profit agencies, The Jackson Township Lions Club, The Kiwanis and the Rotary Club of Jackson Township.